Poll: Gun control trumps gun rights

More Americans prioritize gun control above Second Amendment rights by the widest margin since President Barack Obama took office, according to a new poll released Thursday in wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.

Forty-nine percent of those polled said it’s more important to control gun ownership, compared to 42 percent who say it’s more important to protect Americans’ rights to own guns, according to a Pew Research Center Poll.

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The Pew poll showed a slight shift toward gun control that wasn’t apparent following a July shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. Following that shooting, 47 percent thought it was more important to control gun ownership and 46 percent said it was more important to protect gun rights, according to Pew, within the poll’s margin of error.

But a Gallup poll released Wednesday found that more Americans think banning assault and semi-automatic guns wouldn’t be as effective at preventing school shootings compared with alternatives — such as increasing the government’s mental health spending and adding police presence at schools.

Pew notes that public opinion for gun control legislation remains significantly lower than before Obama took office. In April 2008, 58 percent prioritized controlling gun ownership compared to 37 percent who wanted to protect gun rights. (The remaining percentage of people in the above mentioned Pew polls either said they did not know which to prioritize or did not respond.)

The NRA is scheduled to give a press conference in Washington tomorrow. And top NRA leaders, including NRA president Wayne LaPierre, are slated to be making the rounds on the Sunday shows.

The Pew telephone poll sampled 1,219 American adults between Dec. 17 and Dec. 19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Thank God, at long last America has come to its senses. Lets use this opportunity to make sure those precious children did not die in vain. The time has come for meaningful change in America. It starts with us- it starts NOW.

This is just common sense. There are mentally sick people all over the world. The only difference is the easy accessibility to heavy weaponry that we have allowed. We will always have the sick, and some will do bad stuff but having all these lethal guns and magazines out there is the deeper sickness.

The best way to prevent school shootings is simple. Have armed guards at each and every school. That would be the perfect job for a retired cop. All it would take is just one guard per school. It could be paid for with a slight increase in property taxes. I bet many retired cops would be more then happy to do so for little or no pay. These insane people may be insane but they know what places are gun free zones and which are not. They always pick gun free zones knowing full well that a person with a consealed weapons permit follows all the gun laws and will not be carrying a firearm in such places. You can ban all the types of guns you want the only way to best prevent killings like the one at Newtown and everywhere is for these types of people like Lanza and Holmes to know there is a trained armed guard there that will stop their madness short.

The best way to prevent school shootings is simple. Have armed guards at each and every school. That would be the perfect job for a retired cop. All it would take is just one guard per school. It could be paid for with a slight increase in property taxes. I bet many retired cops would be more then happy to do so for little or no pay. These insane people may be insane but they know what places are gun free zones and which are not. They always pick gun free zones knowing full well that a person with a consealed weapons permit follows all the gun laws and will not be carrying a firearm in such places. You can ban all the types of guns you want the only way to best prevent killings like the one at Newtown and everywhere is for these types of people like Lanza and Holmes to know there is a trained armed guard there that will stop their madness short.

Judging just by results, "gun rights" do more harm than good. Lots and lots of gun accidents, suicides, & homicides far outweigh the recreational pleasures of hunting and the rare occasion when a murder weapon is successfully used in self defense.

If the NRA thinks this horrendous massacre of little children is going to fade away like other incidents it is sorely mistaken. This was a day infamy and will never be forgotten. Millions of people like me will keep the memory alive for all the years to come.You can be sure of that! You cannot pull off your usual PR blitz. This time it will, absolutely not work. This poll proves it! A massive campaign will be in the works to compete with the NRA on this issue.

Right. Let’s make gun ownership against the law. To what end? To prevent what? Murder is already against the law and it doesn’t prevent people from committing this offenses. If guns were not accessible, these people would find much more lethal methods to carry out their deeds. Suicide bomber are extremely effective in the Middle East. Would you then demand laws making it illegal to blowup yourself while taking out dozens of innocents? Weapons never kill anyone. People kill people. http://www.amazon.com/Two-Wolv...

Right. Let’s make gun ownership against the law. To what end? To prevent what? Murder is already against the law and it doesn’t prevent people from committing this offenses. If guns were not accessible, these people would find much more lethal methods to carry out their deeds. Suicide bomber are extremely effective in the Middle East. Would you then demand laws making it illegal to blowup yourself while taking out dozens of innocents? Weapons never kill anyone. People kill people. http://www.amazon.com/Two-Wolv...

Right. Let’s make gun ownership against the law. To what end? To prevent what? Murder is already against the law and it doesn’t prevent people from committing this offenses. If guns were not accessible, these people would find much more lethal methods to carry out their deeds. Suicide bomber are extremely effective in the Middle East. Would you then demand laws making it illegal to blowup yourself while taking out dozens of innocents? Weapons never kill anyone. People kill people. http://www.amazon.com/Two-Wolv...

If guns were not accessible, these people would find much more lethal methods to carry out their deeds.

The funny thing about that is, dead is basically dead. The person laying there, growing puffy with maggots doesnt spend a lot of time pondering whether it was done with a gun, or a claw hammer, or a Precious Moments statuette of the Virgin Mary. Fact is, in 2009 there were over 12,000 homocides committed with firearms. The number of people killed with Precious Moments statuettes was considerably smaller. If you are the type who likes to play the numbers, firearms are the logical place to start in reducing the horrendous number of homocides committed in America.